The Launch of ‘Creative Canada’: Some Brief Thoughts Following the Minister’s Speech

“We pay some of the highest [Internet access] rates in the world. Our government won’t increase the cost of these services to Canadians by imposing a new tax [on Netflix]. We’ve lowered taxes for the middle class, and we will continue to do that.”

In view of the serious concerns among writers, producers and directors “about whether there will be a domestic market for their work, especially in the face of declining private-sector cable and satellite subscription revenues that contribute to the Canada Media Fund … starting in 2018, the Government will increase the federal contribution to maintain the level of funding in the Canada Media Fund to counter these declines.”

“we will reform the Copyright Board to ensure that we support cultural content, pay our artists faster and reduce costs for all parties.”

It is likely that the above announcements will be eclipsed by the “consent agreement” with Netflix, under which the Minister announced a “first of these agreements on behalf of the Government of Canada and Netflix.”Netflix will create Netflix Canada – a permanent film and television production presence in Canada – and will invest a minimum of $500 million in original productions in Canada (in French and English) over the next five years. Netflix will also work to promote Canadian films and programs on its platform so that they are discovered by Canadian audiences and millions of viewers around the world.

It appears that the “original productions” will not be “Canadian content” in the “regulatory sense,” in that programming produced by Netflix, as a non-Canadian entity, cannot qualify as Canadian content under current CAVCO/CRTC requirements for Canadian content.

Many more questions remain to be resolved. We will “Spotlight” these in the near future.

Stephen Zolf is a partner with Aird & Berlis LLP’s Corporate/Commercial Group and a member of the Communications, Sports & Media and Technology Teams.
Stephen is a partner with Aird & Berlis where his practice focuses on media and telecom regulation and competition/foreign investment law relating to merger clearance under the Competition Act and the Investment Canada Act. Stephen has specific expertise on the legislative and regulatory framework governing Canada’s communications sector under the Broadcasting Act, the Telecommunications Act and the Canadian Copyright Act.

Stephen provides strategic and regulatory advice to media clients on a broad range of matters including Canadian content rules and regulations, funding of Canadian producers and content creators and intellectual property issues relating to the acquisition of content for online and digital platforms. He also advises clients on telecom matters such as the provision of competitive access to cable/telecom telecommunications facilities and networks and wireless spectrum policy.

Stephen’s expertise extends to the application of the specific foreign investment rules in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors, including regulatory approval for transfers of ownership and control.

Stephen has acted as regulatory/legal counsel in a number of major high profile media transactions in Canada. He has appeared before various administrative tribunals and agencies, including the CRTC, the Canadian Copyright Board, the Competition Bureau and Industry Canada.

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‘Creative Canada’ – More MusingsBy Stephen ZolfSep 29, 2017Yesterday’s posts (here and here) outlined Netflix’s agreement with the government to invest a minimum of $500 million in original productions in Canada over the next five years. Under the agreement, Netflix “will also work to promote Canadian films and programs on its platform ...